“Black Pleasure” is a great title for a release. It could be any kind of music, and because of the title, the album would sound a little more subversive. Imagine a new Taylor Swift joint, her on the cover looking virginal, the text reading Black Pleasure. Banned from Walmart on principle alone.

Cities Aviv new album doesn’t imply fetishistic experimentation, but it does explore some dark sounds and unsettling ideas. There’s sonic shoutouts to the high age of musical black pleasures—the 80s—with nods to depressive new wave atmosphere, new romantic melodies, and heavy Rick Jamesian bass. There’s also some references to the rap tradition of Cities Aviv hometown (Memphis) with distorted, echoed vocals and stuttering drums. It’s an entirely different kind of trippy over here though, man. If you really want to get to the highest levels of subversive joys on this release there’s the lyrics that openly question the nature of reality, and our pursuit of pleasure. Heady, adventurous stuff for an album that (must) share a title with countless pornos.

- raythedestroyer